It has about as many similarties to the La Caudra as an elephant has to a Rhotwhieler. I am not even sure if it has many similarties to an Italian Double Boiler??? Seriously!!!Below is a picture of a heating element above the portafilter .Do Italian HX OR DB machines use these ??????

biochemgawd Said:

I wouldn't take a chance with one of their other models at this point. Very poor track record. The BDB is another story - well designed, excellent features and performance. Long term reliability is still an open question, but so far Breville has shown good support for the BDB.

Detractors will point out that several members are on their 2nd or 3rd machine, but this is mainly due to their aggressive return/replacement policy. Many other more expensive machines (look through the other threads here) in their first generation have had issues.

Overall, the BDB provides convenience and advanced features (pre-infusion, volumetric-ish dosing, timer, heated grouphead) in exchange for cost-cutting on the internals. A good comparison machine is the Nuova Era Cuadra, an HX machine in the same price range. It lacks some of the features but appears very well built.

I was going to reply the same as you did but figured it wasnt worth wasting my time. From seeing the response you got, now I know I did the right thing. I wouldnt waste my time with immature people that make comments without knowing half of what they are talking about.

I dont know why an honest discussion cant be had here. On one hand BDB users and even the review by Mark illustrate how many different engineering techinques Breville used in this machine. They are hailed as strong points, yet when I used the same facts to illustrate the BDB really isnt that much like an Italian DB Im called a troll. Im not hating on BDB or thier users. Its not an emotional thing I hope. For example the heating coil above the portafiler? Do other DB use that??? Please lets not resort to name calling. Maybe the rule should be unless you own a BDB you cant comment here?

biochemgawd Said:

sigh. How many BDBs do each of you have?

The funny thing is that I was trying to encourage the poster to check out the options in that price range such as the Nuevo Era Cuadra.

I dont know why an honest discussion cant be had here. On one hand BDB users and even the review by Mark illustrate how many different engineering techinques Breville used in this machine. They are hailed as strong points, yet when I used the same facts to illustrate the BDB really isnt that much like an Italian DB Im called a troll. Im not hating on BDB or thier users. Its not an emotional thing I hope. For example the heating coil above the portafiler? Do other DB use that??? Please lets not resort to name calling. Maybe the rule should be unless you own a BDB you cant comment here?

Did any BDB owners on this thread, seriously consider other Breville models before deciding on the BDB?Also, is there any consensus, as to what other models from other manufacturers, are roughly comparable to the BDB?

I didn't consider any other Brevilles because I was looking for a PID'ed dual boiler and the BDB was the only one of those that Breville sold at the time I bought mine, in Jan. 2012.

As far as comparables go, there are two ways to judge: by price or by features. There's not really a close comparable by both counts because BDB is priced so much lower than the other PIDed dual boilers. For the approximate price of the BDB, other espresso machines will typically be at the low end of the HX variety, such as the Oscar, Expobar, or La Cuadra. In terms of features, the most directly comparable machine is probably the La Spaziale Mini Vivaldi for $1,995, but it's missing some features such as programmable pre-infusion and comparable temperature stability. You can spend $3000 for a PID'ed Italian dual boiler without trying too hard at all. Some people will tell you they're better, because they have larger, heavier boilers and lots of steel. Some will tell you they're easier to self-repair because they use off-the-shelf parts, and some are very keen on the use of traditional parts wherever possible. I don't have any experience with these machines so I can't comment on that.

The thing that makes the BDB stand out is the price/features ratio. Nothing compares, as far as I know.

The Italian machines certainly do have their appeal, and I know that many of them actually can make coffee. Let's not forget that many of the Italian machines often do not last all that long. The specialized shops that I am familiar with have back rooms or basements full of used, broken down, and dated looking machines that cost a lot of money not many years ago. They can hardly give them away today.

No doubt, a number of the Italian manufacturers win when it comes to aesthetics, although those old companies also have made models that few of us would want to put on display. Because of the risk of offending anyone, I won't mention names.

It's great that Breville is shaking up the sometimes snobbish coffee world. Maybe the old Italian makers will respond with competitive offerings of their own.

Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post

Forum Rules:No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards.No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum.No SEO style postings will be tolerated. SEO related posts will result in immediate ban from CoffeeGeek.No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum.Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards.Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics.Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies.Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies.Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts.Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.